Professor Dominic Alessio

Professor of History & Director of Study Abroad

Born in Wales to Welsh-Irish and Italian parents, raised in Canada, and having lived and studied in New Zealand, Dom is Professor of History and Director of the Study Abroad Program. He speaks Italian, French, Welsh, and basic Maori, and has studied Spanish and Latin.

A former Canadian Commonwealth Scholar he has taught at McMaster University (Canada), Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), Trinity College (Wales), and St. Thomas University (Canada). He was also a Visiting Research Professor in the English and Media Department at the University of Northampton, UK. Whilst at Richmond he was presented with two university-wide teaching awards.

His research and lecturing interests are in empire, the far right, visual culture (film and television), science fiction/utopianism, propaganda and New Zealand Studies. He has written about the British Empire, Bollywood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Blade Runner and early colonial science fiction. He has been an Academic Council Member for the Centre for New Zealand Studies (CNZS), Birkbeck, University of London, on the Advisory Boards for Kakapo Books and the CNZS Bulletin of New Zealand Studies, and was a Reviews Editor for the British Review of New Zealand Studies (BRONZS). For 6 years he was the Vice Chair of the New Zealand Studies Association (NZSA) and co-organized its annual conferences as far afield as London, Paris, Florence and Frankfurt.

He enjoyed fencing, rugby, canoeing and hockey whilst at university, and his spare time is spent with his children and wife hiking and gardening. He enjoys taking his students on study tour to Wales, Scotland, Italy, and Egypt.

Research Interests

Imperial History

• Theories of empire
• Comparative imperial history
• Cultural history of the European settlement colonies

The Far Right

Science Fiction/Utopianism

Gender & Women’s Studies

Tourist Studies

Urban History

World History

Publications - 30

• Goshverir og „gellur“: Kyngervi, vald og nýlenduhyggja í markaðsefni íslenskrar ferðaþjónustu (with Edward H. Huijbens and Anna Lisa Johannsdottir), the Journal of the Icelandic Sociological Association/Íslenska þjóðfélagið (2012). [Co-authored journal article]
• Small Nations/Big Neighbours. Co-edited with Ian Conrich (Nottingham: Kakapo Books 2012) [Co-edited book]
• "Decolonising Pandora: Science Fiction, Orientalism and Politics in James Cameron' Avatar (2009)" (with Kirsten Meredith), Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History (The John Hopkins University Press, accepted & forthcoming 2012). [Co-authored journal article]
• “Geysirs and ‘Girls’: Gender, Politics and Tourism in Modern Iceland” (with Anna Lisa Johannsdottir), European Journal of Women’s Studies, 18, 1 (2011), 35-50. [Journal article]
• New Zealand, France and the Pacific. Co-edited with Ian Conrich (Nottingham: Kakapo Books, 2011) ISBN: 978 0 9557564 5 0. [Co-edited book]
• “Total Recall Pacific Style: Science Fiction, Colonialism and Pacific Literature”, Exploring Science Fiction: Text and Pedagogy, edited by Geetha B. and Amit Sarwal(New Delhi: CLC Series/SSS Publications, 2011). ISBN No. 81-902282-8-5. [Authored chapter in book]
• “From Body Snatchersto Mind Snatchers: Indigenous Science Fiction, Postcolonialism, and Aotearoa/New Zealand History”, Journal of Postcolonial Literature (July 2011), 257-269. [Journal article]
• “Travel, Tourism and Booster Literature: New Zealand’s Cities and Towns at the Turn of the 20th Century”, Studies in Travel Writing, 14, 4(December 2010), 383-396. [Journal article]
• “Science Fiction, Hindu Nationalism and Modernity: Bollywood’s Koi… Mil Gaya”, in Ericka Hoagland & Reema Sarwal, eds., Science Fiction, Imperialism, and the Third World: Essays on Postcolonial Literature and Film (Jefferson: McFarland Press, 2010), 156-170. [Authored chapter in book]
• “‘Monopoly Imperialism’: How Empires Can be Bought and Leased”, Social Europe Journal, http://www.social-europe.eu/2010/05/monopoly-imperialism-how-empires-can-be-bought-and-leased, May 21, 2010. [Journal article]
• Introduction and editor, The Great Romance. A Rediscovered Utopian Adventure. (University of Nebraska Press, 2008) ISBN-13: 978-0-8032-5996-6 pbk. [Book]
• “Promoting Paradise: Utopianism and National Identity in New Zealand”, New Zealand Journal of History, 42. 1, 2008, 22-40. [Journal article]
• “Hindu Nationalism and Postcolonialism in Indian Science Fiction: Koi… Mil Gaya (2003)” (with Jessica Langer), New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film, 5, no.3, 2007, 217-229. [Journal article]
• “2006-2008 – the Years of the Pacific? Some Thoughts after Pasifika Styles (University of Cambridge) and Power and Taboo (The British Museum), British Review of New Zealand Studies, 16 (2007), 207-217. [Journal article]
• "Redemption, ‘Race’, The Far Right, Religion and Reality: Science Fiction Film Adaptations of Philip K. Dick", in Will Brooker, ed., The Blade Runner Experience: The Legacy of a Science Fiction Classic (London: Wallflower, 2005), 59-75. [Authored chapter in book]
• "A Conservative Utopia?: Anthony Trollope's The Fixed Period (1881)", Journal of New Zealand Literature, 22, (May, 2004), 73-94. [Journal article]
• “Race, Gender and Proto-Nationalism in Julius Vogel's Anno Domini 2000”, Foundation, 91,(2004), 36-54. [Journal article]
• “Close Encounters of the Earliest Kind: A Postcolonial Sighting of the First Aliens and Colony in Science Fiction (1881)", for the special edition of ARIEL: A Post-Colonial Odyssey, 33, no.1, (2002/2003), 15-36. [Journal article]
• "Things are Different Now"?: A Postcolonial Analysis of Buffy the Vampire Slayer", The European Legacy, 6, no.6 (2001), 731-740. [Journal article]
• "Gender, Spiritualism and Reform in Late 19th Century New Zealand: Lotti Wilmot's New Zealand Beds", British Review of New Zealand Studies, 12 (2000), 55-85. [Journal article]
• "Civilisation, Control and Co-operation: Picturing the Natives in the British Settlement Colonies (1870- 1930)", Journal of Imperial and Post-Colonial Historical Studies 1, no.1 (Spring 2000), 71-112. [Journal article]
• "The Great Romance, by The Inhabitant", Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, 2, no.2, (November, 1999), pp.3-17. [Journal piece reproducing a lost text]
• "The Great Romance: a science-fiction/utopian novelette. Part Two.", Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, 2, no.1 (May, 1999), pp.48-79. [Journal piece reproducing a lost text]
• “’A startling apparteness': Race, Imperialism and Popular Culture in British Palestine, 1918-1936", Proceedings of the International Society for the Study of European Ideas, (2000) [Article on ECPR CD-Rom)
• "The Great Romance: a science-fiction/utopian novelette", Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, (October, 1998), 59-101. [Journal article]
• “Domesticating `the Heart of the Wild': Female Personifications of the Colonies, 1886-1940", Women's History Review, (August, 1997), 239-269. [Journal article]
• "An Atlantis of the Antipodes? Utopianism and New Zealand", The Journal of Unconventional History, 7, no.3, (Spring, 1996), pp.53-83. [Journal article]
• "Document in the History of Science-Fiction: The Great Romance, by The Inhabitant", Science Fiction Studies, 20, no.3, (1993), pp.305-340. [Journal article]
• "Capitalist Realist Art: Industrial Images of Hamilton, Ontario, 1884-1910", The Journal of Urban History, 18, no.4, (1992), pp.442-469. [Journal article]
• "A Tale of Twenty Cities: the Urban Environment in American Science-Fiction of the 1950s and 1960s", The Journal of Unconventional History, 2, no.2 (1991), pp. 59-74. [Journal article]

Publications in Progress & Current Research

• ‘Monopoly Imperialism’: the buying and renting of empire as a means of expansion [Article]
• “Filibusters and the Implications for Rethinking Theoretical Approaches to Empire” [co-authored article]
• “Easter Island and the Lost continent of Mu” in Easter Island: Cultural and Historical Perspectives, edited by Ian Conrich and Hermann Mueckler, Novara/ Lit Verlag, September 2012. [Chapter in book]

• “Indian Science Fiction Film: A Postcolonial Perspective”, with Jessica Langer, in World Science Fiction Film: A Critical Anthology, ed. Sonja Fritzsche. [co-authored chapter in book]

Book Reviews - 30

• William Mallinson, Britain and Cyprus: Key Themes and Documents Since World War II (2011). Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies (forthcoming)
• Patricia Kerslake, Science Fiction and Empire (2010). Journal of Postcolonial Literature, forthcoming
• Jamie Belich,Replenishing the Earth. The Settler Revolution and the Rise of the Anglo-World, 1783-1939 (2010). Journal of Postcolonial Literature, 45, 4 (2010), 577-9
• John Rieder, Colonialism and the Emergence of Science Fiction (2008). Journal of Postcolonial Literature, 45, 4 (December 2009), 482-3
• William Main,Send Me A Postcard: New Zealand Postcards and the Stories They Tell (2007). NZSA Bulletin of New Zealand Studies, 2 (2010), 274-277.
• Witi Ihimaera, Sky Dancer (2007). Journal of Postcolonial Literature, 44, 4 (December 2009), 447-8
• Annie E. Coombes, ed., Rethinking Settler Colonialism. History and memory in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand and South Africa. Bulletin of New Zealand Studies, 1 (2008), 271-273
• Russell Kirkpatrick, In the Earth Abides the Flame (2006). Bulletin of New Zealand Studies, 1 (2008), 304-307.
• Russell Kirkpatrick, Across The Face of the World (2006). The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 16 (2007), 221-224.
• Neville Peat, The Catlins (2004). The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 15 (2005), 182-183.
• Report on the BACS/NZSA 2005 Conference. The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 15 (2005), 192-193.
• Margaret McLure, The Wonder Country: Making New Zealand Tourism (2004). The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 15 (2005/6), 173-175.
• Pat Moloney & Kerry Taylor, eds., On the Left: Essays on Socialism in New Zealand (2002). The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 14 (2004), 144-148.
• Caroline Daley, Leisure and Pleasure: Reshaping And Revealing the New Zealand Body 1900-1960 (2003). The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 14 (2004), 222-225.
• Imogen de la Bere, The Welcoming Committee, British Review of New Zealand Studies (BRONZS), 14 (2004), 139-141.
• Lucy Sargisson and Lyman Tower Sargent, Living in Utopia: New Zealand’s Intentional Communities (2004), The British Review of New Zealand Studies, 14 (2004), 225-229.
• Jan Noel, ed., Race and Gender in the Northern Colonies. 2000. British Review of Canadian Studies, 16, no.1 (2003), 195-197.
• Scott W. See, The History of Canada. 2001. British Review of Canadian Studies, 15, nos. 1 & 2 (2003), 242-243.
• Imogen de la Bere, The Understanding of Jenner Ramsfield, British Review of New Zealand Studies (BRONZS), 13 (2003), 89-91.
• Conference Review, "Utopia in Dark Times", British Review of New Zealand Studies (BRONZS), 13 (2003), 102-104.
• Julius Vogel, Anno Domini 2000 or Woman's Destiny. Kotare: New Zealand Notes and Queries, 4, no.1 (June 2001), 75-78
• Anne Maxwell, Colonial Photography and Exhibitions: Representations of the 'Native' People and the Making of European Identities. Australian Studies 15, no. 1 (Summer 2000), 128-129.
• Roger Sheppard, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror: A Reader's Guide. Utopian Studies. Utopian Studies 11, no. 2 (2000), 300-301.
• Ragnhild Fiebig-von Hase & Ursula Lehmkuhl, eds. Enemy Images in American History. Ethnic and Racial Studies 22, no.5 (September, 1999), 941-943.
• Victoria Dickenson, Drawn From Life: Science and Art in the Portrayal of the New World. British Journal of Canadian Studies, 14, no.1 (1999), 154-155.
• Mick Gidley, Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Incorporated. Borderlines: Studies in American Culture 5, no.3 (1998), 304-307.
• Russell McGregor, Imagined Destinies: Aboriginal Australians and the Doomed Race Theory, 1880-1939. Australian Studies 13, no.1 (Summer, 1998), 163-165.
• B.Attwood, W.Burrage, A.Burrage & E.Stokie. A Life Together, A Life Apart: A History of Relations Between Europeans and Aborigines. 1994. Australian Studies, 12, no.2, (December, 1997), 128-130.
• Dr. Louis Thiercelin, Travels in Oceania: Memoirs of a Whaling Ship's Doctor, 1866, translated and edited by Christiane Mortelier. 1995. British Review of New Zealand Studies, 9 (December, 1996), pp.87-89.
• Walter L. Creese. The Search for Environment: The Garden City Before and After. 1992. Utopian Studies, 6, no.1, (1995), pp.135-138.

Editorial Experience

• Reviews Editor of the British Review of New Zealand Studies (BRONZS) 13 (2001-4)
• Associate Editor British Review of New Zealand Studies (BRONZS) 16 (2007)
• Manuscript reviewer for journals such as Tourism Management and the British Review of New Zealand Studies

Exhibits, Television and Shorter Pieces

• Dominic and Sarah Alessio, “Shadowland: A Kiwi’s Experience With the Far Right in Italy”, New Zealand News UK www.nznews.co.uk/home (26/08/2008)
• Interview with SBS Television Korea on documentary examining colonialism and photography (2007)
• Photographic Exhibit "Disorientated: Race, Empire and Photography" for Fringe Event at European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) Conference at Canterbury, UK (September 2001)